Arsenal legend Sol Campbell to conduct coaching camp in Kenya

NAIROBI, Kenya, May 11 – Arsenal legendary defender Sol Campbell will be in Kenya from May 23-28 to conduct coaching camp organized by betting firm SportPesa as part of their partnership with the English Premier League titans Arsenal.

Campbell, who was part of the famous ‘Invincibles’ Arsenal squad that won the 2003-04 English Premier League title unbeaten, will be accompanied by a team of three Arsenal coaches consisting of Paul Drew Tyler, Mohammed Moaz Awadelkarim and Rupen Shah.

In the six day training camp to be held at the Kenya School of Monetary Studies, 60 local coaches drawn from the recently conmcluded16 Kenyan Premier League under-20 championships and across the country, will undergo professional training which they will in turn pass on to the players.

The other 44 coaches are from the grassroots football clubs in Nairobi, Coast, Nyanza, Western, Eastern, Rift Valley, Central and North Eastern.

Sportpesa Chief Executive Officer Ronald Karauri while making the announcement said the objective of the camp is to give international coaching exposure to Kenyan coaches, thus sharpening their skills.

“The essence is to develop a local football curriculum based on the Arsenal academy program for our coaches. In our commitment to improving football standards in Kenya, we will be conducting an Arsenal Football Training Camp with 60 of our certified Kenyan coaches,” Karuri declared.

“The hashtag we will be using across all our communications is #JengaGame. This is in line with our sole purpose of developing the football standards in the country,” he added.

Karauri added that the trained coaches will form the Arsenal Kenya SportPesa talent scouting team and will conduct holiday camps to select players for future training camps.

However, monthly evaluation of the coaches will be conducted by appointed talent Management Company.

“The coaches will be providing monthly reports on the progress of the players selected,” Karuri stated.

The coaching is planned to be in two sessions; theory in the morning and practicals in the afternoon.

Amongst the topics to be taught include profile of a good footballer, player centered coaching, how to identify player talent, ways to assess good players, developing players’ strengths and balancing their weaknesses.

Campbell, who has 73 caps with the England national football team, is remembered by the Gunners fans for his only goal at the 2006 UEFA Champions League Final where Arsenal lost 2-1 to five-time champions Barcelona.

During his stay at Arsenal, the central defender has lifted two Premier League titles (2001-02, 2003-04), three FA Cups (2001–02, 2002–03, 2004–05) and an FA Community Shield (2004).

Before joining Arsenal in 2001, Campbell spent nine years at Tottenham Hotspur, where he scored 10 goals in 255 appearances, and captaining the team to victory in the 1999 Football League Cup Final against Leicester City.

He has also plied his trade at Portsmouth and New Castle United before retiring from football.